Friday, February 25, 2011

IFC's 50 Greatest Opening Title Sequences of All Time

Posted at ifc.com.

I've always loved a well crafted set of opening titles, the kind that make such sequences little works of art all to themselves. Several of my favorites made IFC's list. I'm happy-surprised to see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a favorite movie at our house, and Seconds in the ranking; a bit puzzled by the high placement of the Austin Powers sequence (yeah, it's funny and clever, but above all those others, really?); and pleased to make a few new discoveries (Bunny Lake is Missing, JCVD).

Extra bonus points for the knowledgeable, insightful annotations associated with each title, credited to Matt Singer, Michelle Orange, Stephen Saito, Nick Schager, and R. Emmet Sweeney:

50. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"
49. "Fahrenheit 451"
48. "Exit Through the Gift Shop"
47. "Do the Right Thing"
46. "Run Lola Run"
45. "Magnum Force"
44. "Charade"
43. "The Naked Kiss"
42. "The Kingdom"
41. "Snatch"
40. "The Shining"
39. "Blast of Silence"
38. "Go"
37. "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
36. "Dawn of the Dead"
35. "Reservoir Dogs"
34. "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
33. "Once Upon a Time in the West"
32. "Life of Brian"
31. "To Kill a Mockingbird"
30. "The Wild Bunch"
29. "Delicatessen"
28. "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"
27. "Taxi Driver"
26. "The Player"
25. "The Man With the Golden Arm"
24. "Bullitt"
23. "Kiss Me Deadly"
22. "The Graduate"
21. "Seconds"
20. "The Conversation"
19. "Alien"
18. "Shaft"
17. "Mean Streets"
16. "Lord of War"
15. "Psycho"
14. "Catch Me If You Can"
13. "Bunny Lake is Missing"
12. "The Warriors"
11. "JCVD"
10. "Saturday Night Fever"
9. "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly"
8. "Watchmen"
7. "Raging Bull"
6. "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!"
5. "Goldfinger"
4. "Touch of Evil"
3. "Se7en"
2. "A Hard Day's Night"
1. "Vertigo"

Want more?  www.artofthetitle.com